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Rangers Acquire Danny Coulombe

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The Rangers are acquiring left-hander Danny Coulombe, according to a report from Jeff Passan of ESPN. The club subsequently announced the move, with left-handed pitching prospect Garrett Horn headed to the Twins in exchange for Coulombe.

Coulombe, 35, made his big league debut back in 2014 with the Dodgers. He was a fairly pedestrian middle reliever with the Dodgers and A’s throughout his 20s, and posted a 4.27 ERA and 4.09 FIP across his first five seasons in the majors before being outrighted off the A’s roster back in 2018. He spent the 2019 season in the minors and re-emerged with the Twins during the 2020 campaign. Since then, he’s looked like an entirely different pitcher with a 2.40 ERA and 2.96 FIP across 161 1/3 innings of work between the Twins and Orioles.

Coulombe has not only avoided taking a step back as he’s aged, but he’s actually looked better than ever in his mid-30s. Over the last three seasons, Coulombe has posted a 2.17 ERA with a 2.59 FIP while striking out 27.6% of his opponents and walking just 5.9%. He’s paired that quality strikeout stuff and strong command with a knack for missing barrels with a minuscule 4.5% barrel rate to go with a 36.2% hard-hit rate, and his 3.07 SIERA in that time is on-par with top-shelf leverage relievers like David Robertson and Emmanuel Clase. This year, he’s been even better, with a microscopic 1.16 ERA and 1.96 FIP in 31 innings of work for Minnesota.

That’s a massive addition to a Rangers bullpen that has enjoyed solid seasons from players like Chris Martin and Robert Garcia. The Rangers weren’t hurting for bullpen help this season as they have been in previous years, but in a season where their offense has under-performed across the board and their rotation is stacked with elite options further strengthening the relief corps is an understandable path to take.

Coulombe was surely an extremely attractive piece for the Rangers in part because of his bargain salary. Coulombe is making just $3MM total this year, meaning the Rangers will have to pay him only around $1MM for the remainder of the season. That’s a crucial factor for a club that has remained stalwart in its desire to duck under the $241MM luxury tax threshold this year. Texas is just barely under that threshold at this point, with RosterResource suggesting they have a payroll of just over $235MM for luxury tax purposes. That’s likely slightly below where they’ll ultimately end up given the possibility of contract bonuses and incentives that will impact the final line.

As for the Twins, they’ll receive a young lefty pitcher as they continue their fire sale. A sixth-round pick in the 2024 draft by the Rangers last year, Horn has made nine starts between rookie ball and the Single-A level this season. The 22-year-old has posted a strong 2.92 ERA across 24 2/3 innings of work with a 35.4% strikeout rate, though that dominance isn’t exactly unexpected for a 22-year-old in the lowest levels of the minor leagues. Still, Horn is an intriguing addition for a Twins farm system who Baseball America ranked as the #25 prospect in the Texas system this year. His mid-90s fastball is impressive, but his curveball is viewed as average at best and his changeup is completely undeveloped. He’s unlikely to be more than a reliever in the majors unless his secondary pitches develop substantially, but mid-90s velocity from the left side has a place in the majority of big league bullpens.

Dodgers, Twins To Swap Brock Stewart For James Outman

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The Dodgers and Twins are reportedly in agreement on a one-for-one swap of reliever Brock Stewart for center fielder James Outman. Both players are on the 40-man roster, so there won’t need to be any corresponding transactions.

Stewart hasn’t gotten as much attention as former teammates Jhoan Duran and Griffin Jax at the back of Minnesota’s bullpen. He’s a strong late-game weapon in his own right. As with most Dodger pitching targets, he’s very effective on a rate basis but comes with significant durability questions. Stewart is healthy at the moment, and his presence should be a major boost to a floundering L.A. relief group.

The 6’3″ Stewart has fired 34 innings of 2.38 ERA ball on the year. He has struck out almost 30% of batters faced behind an excellent 14.7% swinging strike rate. He pairs that with a league average 7.9% walk rate and has done a good job avoiding hard contact. Stewart leads a five-pitch mix with a 96 MPH fastball and gets big swing-and-miss numbers on both his sweeper and changeup.

It’s a back-end profile. Stewart has picked up 14 holds and only blown one lead all season. Minnesota skipper Rocco Baldelli has used him behind only Duran and Jax on their leverage hierarchy over the past month. This is the second time in the past three years in which Stewart has been an underrated bullpen weapon. He posted a 0.95 ERA with a near-36% strikeout rate in 28 appearances two seasons back.

Health is the drawback. Stewart has appeared in parts of seven MLB seasons. He has never reached 40 innings. He’ll establish a new career-high workload in his first appearance after the trade. Stewart began his career with the Dodgers as a 2014 sixth-round pick. He logged parts of four seasons as a swingman before being lost on waivers to Toronto in 2019. He was out of MLB entirely over the next three seasons, largely because of 2021 Tommy John surgery.

Stewart reemerged with Minnesota in 2023. He was suddenly sitting around 97 MPH after working in the 91-94 range before the surgery. Stewart dominated for a couple months until experiencing renewed elbow discomfort that shut him down in late June. Last season, he was limited to 18 appearances by shoulder problems that necessitated arthroscopic surgery in August. He has been healthy this year aside from a brief season-opening IL stint related to a left hamstring strain.

The atypical career arc and lack of volume have tamped down Stewart’s earning power. He’s playing on an $870K salary that is barely above the league minimum. Stewart will go through arbitration twice more and won’t hit free agency until the end of his age-35 season. While the affordability meant that the Twins didn’t need to trade him, they also presumably felt this was the peak of his value. Stewart’s age and injury history meant there’d be real risk in holding onto him and hoping he’d remain this effective going into 2026.

It’s the first of what should be multiple bullpen acquisitions for Los Angeles. Dodger relievers rank 22nd in MLB with a 4.24 earned run average. They’re top 10 in strikeout rate but have not been as strong as expected. Tanner Scott has been wobbly and is now battling elbow inflammation. Kirby Yates has a 4.31 ERA despite excellent strikeout and walk numbers. Evan Phillips is done for the year. Michael Kopech and Brusdar Graterol could make late-season returns but have notable injury concerns.

While Stewart himself is far from a sure thing to stay healthy, he’s a nice get for a player whose hold on a roster spot seemed tenuous. The 28-year-old Outman hit 23 home runs and finished third in NL Rookie of the Year balloting two seasons ago. That came with a concerning level of swing-and-miss, however, and he hasn’t come close to that kind of production over the past couple years. Outman fanned at a 35% clip while hitting .147 in 53 big league contests last season. He’s batting .103 with 18 strikeouts in 44 trips to the plate this year.

Outman has remained productive against minor league pitching. He’s hitting .289/.378/.592 with 20 homers and 14 stolen bases in 70 Triple-A games this season. His .286/.386/.585 batting line over parts of three season there is strong even in the context of the Pacific Coast League. Outman’s production still comes with significant strikeout caveats. He’s a plus runner and defensive center fielder who doesn’t need to hit a ton to be a fourth or fifth outfielder. He’ll nevertheless obviously need to produce more than the .137/.245/.269 slash that he has managed at the MLB level over the past two seasons.

This is Outman’s final minor league option year. He can back up Byron Buxton in center or spend the remainder of the season at Triple-A St. Paul. The Twins would need to decide whether to carry him on the Opening Day roster next season or expose him to waivers.

ESPN’s Jeff Passan first reported the Dodgers were nearing a deal for Stewart. Alden González of ESPN reported Outman was going back, while Bobby Nightengale of The Minnesota Star-Tribune confirmed it was one for one.

Images courtesy of Matt Krohn and Patrick Gorski, Imagn Images.

Padres Leaning Towards Holding Robert Suarez

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The Padres just landed a superstar reliever in the biggest move of deadline season. Mason Miller’s presence theoretically gives the Padres more freedom to trade incumbent closer Robert Suarez in the next three hours. That doesn’t appear to be the team’s plan, though.

Kevin Acee of The San Diego Union-Tribune and Dennis Lin of The Athletic each wrote this afternoon that the Friars were leaning towards holding Suarez. Both reports note that they’re still entertaining a trade of impending free agent starter Dylan Cease. Suarez is likely to hit free agency this winter as well. He’s expected to opt out of the remaining two years and $16MM on his contract. Cease is a pure rental who is making $13.75MM.

Suarez’s opt-out makes him a more complicated trade candidate. Other teams could have trepidation about the possibility of a late-season injury that causes him to bypass the out chance. That’s something they’d want to price into the prospect return they’re offering San Diego. It could explain why the Padres don’t appear to have found much traction on a return they consider compelling. Instead, they seem inclined to stick with a monster bullpen including Miller, Suarez, Jeremiah Estrada, Jason Adam and Adrian Morejon to shorten games for what they hope will be a deep playoff run.

The focus now appears to be on an outfielder. San Diego has reportedly addressed their catching need by landing Freddy Fermin from Kansas City for back-end starters Ryan Bergert and Stephen Kolek. They still need to add a left fielder; Acee writes that acquiring a right-hand hitting outfielder would be ideal.

Royals Trade Freddy Fermin To Padres For Ryan Bergert, Stephen Kolek

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The Padres are acquiring catcher Freddy Fermin from the Royals, according to a report from ESPN’s Jeff Passan. Right-handers Ryan Bergert and Stephen Kolek are headed to Kansas City in exchange for Fermin. The clubs have since announced the deal.

Fermin, 30, heads to San Diego after parts of four seasons with the Royals. After a three-game cup of coffee in 2022, Fermin debuted in a more substantial way the following year when he appeared in 70 games as a complement to Salvador Perez behind the plate. Fermin did quite well for himself in that rookie campaign, as he slashed .281/.321/.461 with a 108 wRC+ with strong grades for his defense behind the plate. It was enough to earn him a larger role with the club, and he began to take more starts behind the dish while Perez increasingly spent his time at DH or first base.

Fermin went on to appear in 111 games last year and put together a solid enough season. While his offense took a step back amid increased playing time, he still managed a wRC+ of 92 and earned strong marks for his blocking and throwing arm behind the plate. Things have taken a turn for the worse this year, however. Fermin has been lackluster at the dish with a .255/.309/.339 (78 wRC+) slash line, and his defensive metrics have taken a step back as well. He’s been worth just 0.4 fWAR in 67 games, but even that somewhat meager performance outpaces the Padres’ current catching tandem. Elias Diaz (67 wRC+) and Martin Maldonado (62 wRC+) have both been even less impressive than Fermin behind the plate this year, and Maldonado in particular has paired that weak offense with some of the worst catcher defense in the entire sport despite his reputation as an elite game caller.

Getting an upgrade on both at and behind the plate who comes with four years of team control was evidently worth paying a significant price for the Padres. In exchange for surrendering Fermin, the Royals have brought in two young starters who have already broken into the big leagues in Bergert and Kolek. Bergert is the prize of the duo, still in his rookie season with a 2.78 ERA in 35 2/3 innings of work spread between seven starts and four relief outings. His peripherals are a bit less encouraging, as his 22.8% strikeout rate is somewhat outweighed by an elevated 12.1% walk rate, but he remains a controllable arm capable of pitching both out of the rotation or in relief as needed.

As for Kolek, the right-hander made his big league debut with the Padres as a reliever last year. He struggled to a 5.21 ERA in 46 2/3 innings of work but posted strong underlying metrics with a 55.9% ground ball rate, a 3.57 FIP, and a 3.41 SIERA. That was enough to convince the Padres to move him into a rotation role for this year, and so far he’s made 14 starts for San Diego with roughly league average results. In 79 2/3 innings of work, Kolek has pitched to a 4.18 ERA with a 4.23 FIP. While he’s struck out just 16.7% of his opponents against a 7.7% walk rate, his 50.6% ground ball rate is still impressive and has allowed him to miss barrels throughout his time in the majors.

With both Bergert and Kolek under team control for the next half-decade, that should give the Royals plenty of flexibility at the back of their rotation both for the short-term (with Kris Bubic, Cole Ragans, and Michael Lorenzen all on the injured list) as well as the long-term, as players like Bubic and Lorenzen reach free agency while Seth Lugo and Michael Wacha get older. While losing Fermin from the club’s catching situation will hurt in the short term, a combination of Perez and Luke Maile is still on the roster while top catching prospects Carter Jensen, Blake Mitchell, and Ramon Ramirez all remain in the minor leagues to help shore up the club’s catching situation in the coming seasons.

Phillies Acquire Harrison Bader

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The Phillies announced the acquisition of outfielder Harrison Bader from the Twins. Minnesota receives two prospects: outfielder Hendry Mendez and right-hander Geremy Villoria. Philadelphia designated reliever Brett de Geus for assignment to clear a 40-man roster spot.

Bader, 31, has been a solid big leaguer for years. He is one of the best outfield defenders in the league, with career tallies of 63 Defensive Runs Saved and 76 Outs Above Average. That DRS total is fifth-best among outfielders since the start of 2017, while the OAA total tops the leaderboard.

His offense has been up-and-down but he’s currently on pace to have his best season at the plate. In 307 plate appearances, he already has 12 home runs. Only once in his career has he hit more than that, which was the 16 he hit in 2021. His 26.4% strikeout rate is a bit high but his 8.8% walk rate is his best mark in years.

On the whole, he has a .258/.339/.439 line this year. His 117 wRC+, a career high, indicates he has been 17% better than league average at the plate this year. Thanks to ten stolen bases and some quality glovework, he’s already been worth 2.0 wins above replacement on the year, in the eyes of FanGraphs.

The Twins have pivoted to sell mode recently. They are 51-57 and 5.5 games out of a playoff spot. This the second deal they have lined up with the Phillies, as they already sent Jhoan Durán to Philadelphia. They also traded Chris Paddack to the Tigers and Brock Stewart to the Dodgers.

Bader has long been seen as likely to go, since he’s an impending free agent. He signed a one-year, $6.25MM deal with the Twins in the offseason. That guarantee came in the form of a $750K signing bonus, a $4MM salary, and a $1.5MM buyout on a mutual option. Mutual options are essentially never picked up by both sides, which is why Bader has been viewed as a rental. His buyout can also increase via plate appearance incentives. He would add $200K at 400, 425 and 450 plate appearances, then $450K at 475 and 500. As mentioned, he’s currently at 307 plate appearances.

His deal also has a $500K assignment bonus if he’s traded. Per Bobby Nightengale of the Minnesota Star Tribune, the Twins aren’t including any money in this deal, so it seems the Phils will take on the remaining salary and the buyout on the option. There’s about $1.3MM of salary left. The buyout, as mentioned, is $1.5MM but can increase.

Money aside, Bader is a great fit for the Phillies. They have been looking for outfield help and right-handed bat. Bader ticks both boxes. Nick Castellanos is cemented in right, but he’s a league-average bat with horrible defensive metrics. Johan Rojas is the opposite, as he’s a great defender who doesn’t hit. Brandon Marsh and Max Kepler are a bit less extreme. They’re both good defenders in a corner but a bit stretched in center. They both can hit but are left-handed hitters who do more damage with the platoon advantage. Kepler is also now battling a triceps injury, per Lochlahn March of the Philadelphia Inquirer.

Bader has largely been playing left field for the Twins out of deference to Byron Buxton. He should be able to pivot back to center for the Phils. That should allow for Rojas, Kepler and Marsh to all be used more selectively. Bader has pretty even platoon splits this year but his career splits are more extreme, with a .248/.315/.461 line versus lefties and a .242/.307/.374 slash against righties. Kepler recently expressed some dissatisfaction with being platooned but he hasn’t helped his cause with a .196/.250/.314 line against southpaws this year.

Mendez, 21, was originally a Brewers prospect. He came to the Phils in a November 2023 trade which sent infielder Oliver Dunn to the Brewers. Dunn was a minor league Rule 5 pick out of the Yankees’ system, making a fairly unusual trade tree for this move.

Since Mendez has come over the Phils, he’s been great at the plate. He spent last year at High-A and has been at Double-A this year. He has stepped to the plate 722 times in those two seasons with a 12.7% walk rate, 13.3% strikeout rate, .287/.380/.412 batting line and 131 wRC+. Baseball America lists him as the #17 prospect in the system. Their report notes that he hits the ball incredibly hard but too often into the ground. He’s not considered a strong outfield defender, so his development as a hitter will be key.

He is eligible for the Rule 5 draft this winter. Perhaps the Phils weren’t going to add him to their 40-man roster or were on the fence about it. The Twins will need to add him this fall if they don’t want him to be exposed.

Villoria, 16, was an international signing of the Phils out of Venezuela. He just signed with the Phils this year out of for a $425K bonus and has 14 professional innings under his belt in the Dominican Summer League. His youth and inexperience naturally make him a long-term play. Baseball America notes that he can already get up to the mid-90s with his fastball and he also has a high-spin slider as well as a changeup.

For the Phils, they’re adding a bit of money to their books but they’re usually not afraid to do that and they’ve clearly got a foot on the gas pedal here. Their core players are mostly in their mid-30s, so they made a bold strike by giving up notable prospects in the Durán deal. Here, they’ve given up a few prospects but not top guys.

They are a third-time payor of the competitive balance tax and over the top tier, meaning they will face a 110% tax rate on Bader’s remaining salary and the buyout. Between the salary and buyout, he’s owed at least $2.8MM, so the Phils will also have to pay over $3MM in taxes on that.

For the Twins, they add a couple of extra prospects from a player who was set to depart in free agency anyway. It’s possible that saving money is a goal for them this week. They could have included money here to ask for a greater prospect return but didn’t do so. They also included Randy Dobnak’s contract in the Paddack deal, seemingly to save a few million bucks. They could still move Willi Castro, Danny Coulombe, Ty France and Christian Vázquez before the day is done, as they are all impending free agents. If they’re willing to move another controllable player like they did in the Duran deal, Griffin Jax could be on the move as well.

Teams like the Mets, Yankees and Dodgers were also connected to Bader in recent weeks. Those teams could pivot to guys like Steven Kwan, Luis Robert Jr., Cedric Mullins and/or Ramón Laureano, who are thought to be available today.

ESPN’s Jeff Passan first reported the Phillies were closing in on a Bader deal for an outfield and pitching prospect. Matt Gelb of The Athletic had the return.

Photo courtesy of Matt Blewett, Jordan Johnson, Imagn Images

Yankees, Pirates Discussing David Bednar Trade

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The Yankees and Pirates are in talks on a trade that would send closer David Bednar from Pittsburgh to the Bronx, reports Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic. New York is seen by others pursuing Bednar as a front-runner to acquire him, though a deal is not yet in place. MLB.com’s Mark Feinsand adds that the Bucs are still discussing Bednar with several clubs, but the Yankees consider him their top option.

Bednar, 30, is one of the top controllable relievers on the market. The hard-throwing 6’1″ righty is making $5.9MM this season and is under club control for one more year. He’s owed about $1.87MM of that sum for the balance of the season, though the Yankees would pay a 110% luxury tax on him, making the total financial outlay closer to $3.9MM.

A former All-Star, Bednar struggled through a brutal 2024 season and had a rough start to his 2025 campaign. The Bucs optioned him to Triple-A in late March, and Bednar has been an absolute behemoth since returning. In 37 frames, he’s posted a dazzling 1.70 ERA with a 34.5% strikeout rate and 5.5% walk rate. It’s some of the best work of Bednar’s career — even better than what had been a 2021-23 peak that saw him post a combined 2.25 ERA, 31.2% strikeout rate and 7.7% walk rate.

Bednar surely holds extra appeal for the Yankees, given that additional season of club control. Top relievers like Devin Williams and Luke Weaver are both set to reach free agency at season’s end. Bednar would be able to pitch in any high-leverage role necessary in 2025 and could step into the ninth inning for the 2026 season, depending on whether Williams and/or Weaver are retained.

The Pirates have looked into trading Bednar in the past, though he’s a Pittsburgh native and favorite of owner Bob Nutting, who has reportedly intervened in some of his front office’s past discussions surrounding a Bednar trade. With the Pirates in the midst of another disappointing season and already having dismissed manager Derek Shelton, it’s seen as more likely that ownership will step to the side and let the front office earnestly explore the possibility.

The Rangers, Tigers, Phillies and Dodgers have all reportedly shown interest in Bednar this month as well, although the Phillies are likely done adding to the ’pen after acquiring Jhoan Duran, and the Tigers have already acquired a trio of veteran relievers (Kyle Finnegan, Rafael Montero, Paul Sewald).

Tigers Acquire Kyle Finnegan

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The Tigers announced the acquisition of right-hander Kyle Finnegan from the Nationals. Detroit sent righty pitching prospects Josh Randall and R.J. Sales back to Washington. The Tigers transferred newly-acquired reliever Paul Sewald to the 60-day injured list in a corresponding roster move. Sewald has been out since mid-July with a shoulder strain and is not expected back until the middle of September.

Finnegan, 33, has been the Nationals’ primary closer in each of the past three seasons after sharing the role with Brad Hand and Tanner Rainey in 2021 and ’22. A 2024 All-Star, the righty has racked up 108 saves over the past five seasons but does not have the elite run prevention numbers typically associated with the closer role. For his career, he’s posted a 3.66 ERA and 4.16 FIP across 329 1/3 innings of work. Those numbers have been trending downward as well, with a 3.87 ERA and 4.24 FIP since the start of the 2023 season. He’s struck out just 21.5% of batters in that time while walking 8.6%, and while his walk rate has stayed steady this year his strikeouts have dipped further to a clip of just 19.6%.

Overall, it’s closer to a middle relief profile than that of a top-of-the-line closer, but Finnegan’s experience in the ninth inning could still be valuable for a club like the Tigers without an established ninth-inning guy. Will Vest is currently getting the majority of the opportunities in the ninth, but perhaps Finnegan could help ease the load on Vest’s shoulders. There are some things to like in Finnegan’s numbers this season, as well; he’s generating grounders at a strong 48.2% clip, his 64.1% strand rate suggests poor sequencing luck that could lend to strong results going forward, and his 38.8% hard-hit rate is his best figure since 2021.

Finnegan joins what increasingly appears to be a bulk approach to overhauling the bullpen in Detroit. In addition to the veteran closer, the Tigers have traded for Randy Dobnak, Rafael Montero, and Paul Sewald to bolster their bullpen in recent days. Dobnak and Montero are both generally regarded as fringe relievers at this stage of their careers, while Sewald has impressive strikeout rates and closing experience but is expected to be on the injured list with a shoulder strain until September.

Finnegan figures to be the most impactful piece of the group, but he’s a clear step down from some of the more well-regarded arms that have been bandied about as available this summer like David Bednar and Pete Fairbanks, to say nothing of elite closers like Jhoan Duran and Mason Miller who have already been moved. That’s not to say a bigger splash couldn’t be coming down the pipeline at some point before the deadline this afternoon, but with the price tag on top relievers soaring it’s at least possible that Scott Harris’s front office isn’t interested in giving up top talent to acquire bullpen help.

They managed to avoid paying a premium for Finnegan’s services in this deal. In exchange for Finnegan, the Nationals will receive a pair of pitching prospects. Randall is the headliner of the pair, ranked as Detroit’s 15th best prospect by MLB Pipeline. A 22-year-old who was recently promoted to High-A, Detroit’s third-round pick from the 2024 draft has posted a 3.92 ERA in 17 starts across the Single- and High-A levels this year. While Randall is currently starting, there’s some relief risk in his profile due to questions on whether or not his changeup will develop. Sales, meanwhile, was the club’s tenth-round pick in last season’s draft and is unranked within the Tigers’ top 30 prospects at Pipeline.

After posting solid numbers for UNC Wilmington as an amateur, Sales has 2.71 ERA in 66 1/3 innings of work so far this year while striking out 24.1% of his opponents. Both Sales and Randall figure to be in the mix to help out the Nationals’ pitching staff as soon as late next year, though it would hardly be a shock if either hurler didn’t debut until 2027. They join infield prospect Ronny Cruz and outfield prospect Christian Franklin as deadline additions for the Nats after that duo was acquired from the Cubs in exchange for right-hander Michael Soroka last night. Right-hander Clayton Beeter and outfield prospect Browm Martinez have also joined the organization in recent days after the Yankees swung a deal with D.C. to acquire Amed Rosario.

Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic first reported the Tigers were acquiring Finnegan. Andrew Golden of The Washington Post had the return. Image courtesy of Jeff Curry, Imagn Images.

Astros Interested In Carlos Correa Reunion

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July 31: Nightengale reports that the talks between the two clubs are “all but dead,” adding that Houston asked Minnesota to pay “about $50MM” of the $102.5MM remaining in Correa’s contract and also asked for an outfielder to be included in the deal. Nightengale adds that the Twins rejected that offer and “aren’t budging” from that position. Rome reports (alongside The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal) that talks between the sides have continued despite both sides downplaying the likelihood of a trade.

July 30, 12:37pm: The Astros approached the Twins about the possibility, Chandler Rome and Dan Hayes of The Athletic report. Astros owner Jim Crane has “remained a fan” of Correa since his departure, they note, adding that the Twins believe Houston is perhaps the only destination to which Correa would green-light a trade. Nightengale adds that Correa indeed would be open to returning to Houston and playing third base there. That said, Hayes and Rome echo Passan in writing that the two sides are far apart and a deal is not at all close.

12:07pm: The Twins and Astros have indeed talked about the possibility of a Correa trade but aren’t close to an agreement, ESPN’s Jeff Passan reports.

9:52am: As the Astros seek help in the infield following injuries to Isaac Paredes and Jeremy Pena, they’ve looked into the possibility of bringing Carlos Correa back to Houston, as first reported by USA Today’s Bob Nightengale. Phil Miller of the Minneapolis Star-Tribune writes that the two parties have had discussions on the possibility. MLB.com’s Brian McTaggart adds that Houston’s interest “is real.” Nightengale adds that Houston remains interested in Eugenio Suárez as well and has at least weighed the possibility of another run at Nolan Arenado.

The Correa scenario presents a fascinating, if unexpected wrinkle to this summer’s deadline market. In the offseason, Twins president of baseball operations Derek Falvey downplayed the possibility of trading his shortstop, and Correa himself voiced an affinity for Minnesota when asked about his no-trade clause at the time.

It’s fair to wonder whether either party’s stance has changed. The Twins have struggled through a sub-.500 four months of baseball and have minimal hope of reaching the postseason. The Pohlad family is exploring a sale of the team, and while that was true over the winter as well, the former front-runner to purchase the Twins, Justin Ishbia, has since instead reached a long-term agreement to become the majority stakeholder in the White Sox (where he was already a minority owner). On Correa’s end of things, returning to his original organization and jumping back into a playoff race would presumably be appealing.

Correa is still owed significant money. He signed a six-year, $200MM deal with four vesting options prior to the 2023 season. He’ll make a combined $92MM from 2026-28 and also still has about $11.6MM of this year’s salary yet to be paid out. The Twins would almost certainly have to pay down a portion of the contract to make a deal work.

Even if Minnesota did so, however, adding Correa back to the roster in Houston would send the Astros soaring past the luxury tax threshold. They’re currently about $4.5MM shy of that barrier, per RosterResource. Owner Jim Crane was steadfastly against exceeding the tax threshold in the offseason — at least in most scenarios. His lone exception, it seemed, would have been for a reunion with Alex Bregman. Whether Crane is feeling more urgency due to Houston’s litany of injuries or simply harbors some sentimentality for another former Astros star, one has to imagine he’s grown more comfortable crossing the tax threshold.

That Correa is in the midst of a sub-par season only further muddies the water. The 30-year-old hit brilliantly for the Twins last year in an injury-shortened campaign, batting .310/.388/.517 with his typical brand of strong defense at shortstop. He’s rebounded from a poor start in 2025 to an extent, but Correa’s .267/.319/.386 slash is slightly under league average (97 wRC+). Over his past 274 plate appearances, Correa is hitting .300 with a .350 on-base percentage but just a .423 slugging percentage. His power is down substantially this season, in part because his ground-ball rate has spiked to a 48.5% — its highest level in five years.

A renewed run at Arenado would register as something of a surprise. Arenado invoked his no-trade clause to nix a trade to Houston over the winter. Now that the Astros are in first place, he’d likely be more open to a move there. However, he’s in the midst of a third straight down year at the plate and is still owed substantial money.

Arenado, 34, is hitting a career-worst .235/.295/.367 in 390 plate appearances. By measure of wRC+, he’s been 16% worse than average at the plate. He remains a strong defensive third baseman but no longer draws top-of-the-scale grades from defensive metrics. He’s earning $32MM this year, $27MM next year and $15MM in 2027. It’s a steep price to pay for a former All-Star whose bat is has been on the downswing for several years now. The Cardinals would need to eat a major portion of the contract, but there’s still enough left on the deal that Arenado, too, would surely put Houston over the luxury threshold.

Suárez, owed $4.8MM for the remainder of the season, might not quite put the Astros over that edge, though the Diamondbacks could always include some cash to coax a more favorable return. The bidding on the 34-year-old slugger will be fierce, however, and Houston’s farm system is not as well regarded as some of the other teams who’ll be vying for Suárez and his 36 home runs. The Mariners, Cubs, Tigers, Phillies and Reds are among the teams also pursuing him.

Paredes could miss the remainder of the season — Nightengale notes that surgery is a consideration — but he’s controlled for an additional two years. Pena is on the mend from fractured ribs but is also controlled through 2027. Given the Astros’ multiple years of control over the left side of their infield, Suárez represents a cleaner fit than either Correa or Arenado. Paredes could slide over to second base in subsequent seasons if the Astros wind up with a new infielder who’s signed beyond the current season, but he’s played the vast majority of his career at third base.

Correa’s name hasn’t come up until this point, but the Twins are expected to be active sellers over the next two days. Righty Chris Paddack was already moved to the Tigers, and rental players like Willi Castro, Harrison Bader and Danny Coulombe are all expected to change hands as well. The more interesting element is whether the Twins will cave and trade anyone controlled longer-term. Relievers Jhoan Duran and Griffin Jax have been two of the most sought-after names on the bullpen market, and any contending team would love to add righty Joe Ryan to its rotation. All three are controlled through 2027, however. Add in the new possibility of a Correa deal, and there’s plenty for the Minnesota front office to do over the next day and a half.

Tigers Acquire Paul Sewald

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The Tigers are acquiring right-hander Paul Sewald from the Guardians, according to a report from Chris McCosky of The Detroit News. According to Jon Heyman of the New York Post, Cleveland will receive a player to be named later or cash from Detroit to complete the deal. Buster Olney of ESPN reports that the Tigers are taking on the remainder of Sewald’s contract in its entirety, which Olney estimates is about a $2MM commitment.

Sewald, 35, was one of the better closers in the league with the Mariners just a few short years ago. After debuting with the Mets all the way back in 2017 and spending some time in New York as an up-and-down middle reliever with mediocre results, Sewald came to Seattle in 2021 and pitched to a 2.88 ERA with a 3.34 FIP across 171 2/3 innings of work with the club while racking up 52 saves across parts of three seasons. He was swapped to the Diamondbacks at the 2023 trade deadline and began to struggle after leaving the Pacific Northwest. While he remained a closer for the majority of his time in Arizona and managed to pick up an additional 29 saves during that time, his results were pedestrian as he pitched to a 4.08 ERA with a 4.29 FIP. After striking out 35.0% of his opponents with the Mariners, that figure dropped to just 25.7% during his time with Arizona.

That middling performance in the desert left Sewald to enter free agency last winter in a less than ideal spot. He ended up signing with the Guardians on a one-year, $7MM guarantee back in January but has not lived up to that contract so far. The right-hander has been placed on the injured list due to a right shoulder strain two separate times this year; once back in April and once just two weeks ago. He’s only managed to make 18 appearances around those injury woes, and hasn’t exactly impressed during those outings with a 4.70 ERA and 4.07 FIP across 15 1/3 innings of work. Evan Petzold of the Detroit Free Press writes that Sewald is currently expected to return in early September, meaning he’ll be a late-season addition to the club’s bullpen at best.

All of that explains why the Tigers were able to take Sewald off Cleveland’s hands for little more than salary relief, but it’s still not hard to see why Detroit would be intrigued. The veteran righty is still punching out batters at a high level, with a 29.0% strikeout rate this year. He was managing to keep his walks under control as well, allowing free passes at a 6.5% clip that leaves him with his best K-BB% since 2022. A .297 BABIP that’s slightly elevated by his standards and an extremely low 65.2% strand rate suggest there could be some poor fortune when it comes to batted balls and sequencing baked into Sewald’s lackluster results, offering optimism for better days ahead. Perhaps most importantly, the elevated home run rates that have dogged Sewald throughout his career could be mitigated in Detroit given the cavernous outfield of Comerica Park.

Sewald is the fourth pitcher Detroit has added in recent days, joining relievers Rafael Montero and Randy Dobnak as well as starter Chris Paddack. All four of those additions are relatively low-impact veterans, with Paddack slotting firmly into the back of Detroit’s rotation while Montero and Dobnak are both little more than middle relievers. Sewald has the upside of a quality set-up man, but won’t be able to pitch at all for another month at least. Overall, it’s a volume approach to the deadline for a club that entered the summer with a clear need in the bullpen. Sewald won’t unilaterally solve the Tigers’ need for a late-inning reliever to pair with Will Vest, but he could represent a viable fallback option in case a larger deal for a more impactful piece doesn’t ultimately come together in the final hours before this afternoon’s deadline.

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